Metallica's 11th Album: 10 Things Fans NEED To See

10. More Equal Contributions

On the band's past few albums, they seem to be crediting the songs to the entire band rather than to just one or two members. However, it's pretty clear that James Hetfield is the one who steers the ship in terms of riffs, with Lars Ulrich overseeing the arrangements.

Though the duo have done an exquisite job over the years, it may be time to give Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo a greater role from a writing perspective. Hetfield may bethe master of the riffs, but Hammett has delivered some great licks over the years from the breakdown of "Creeping Death" to the main structure of "Enter Sandman."

The fact that Kirk lost his phone with his riff ideas during the production of Hardwired didn't really help, making most of the album feel like a straightforward Hetfield affair.

While Rob Trujillo is the newest member, it stills feels like there's some songwriting potential he hasn't tapped into yet, given the contributions he brought to songs like "All Nightmare Long" from Death Magnetic.

Some fans may see the Hetfield/Ulrich team as something not to be messed with, but a shakeup in dynamics might be just what the band needs to make something unprecedented.